Iftel
Iftel is a secretive and self-isolated country bordering the north of Hardorn and the east of Valdemar. It is most famous for its Wall, a magical barrier that keeps out everything except for a select few. Currently ruled by Vykaendys-First Bryron Hess, 'The Son of the Sun' in Iftel. The revelation of both religious and possibly bloodline kinship to the Kingdom and People of Karse is made near the end of the Mage Storms. History The Mage Wars In the era of the Mage Wars, two mages fought each other for supremacy. The good Mage of Silence, Urtho, led an army against the evil Ma'ar. He had a tendency to group people according to their origin or ethnicity in armies rather than spreading them out. One of these groups was called the Third Army. The humans of the Third Army served a God, whom they called Vykaendys, who decreed that those with magic powers must be the priests, so the army had no mages. Since they didn't object to working with others of other faiths, a group of mages with which they shared no nationality was assigned to them, as well as a wing of gryphons with their trondi'irn, a charge of dyheli,'' a pack of kyree, a surge of ratha, and a knot of tyrill.'' After the retreat from Urtho's Tower, the Third Army was cut off from everyone else. The mages opted to use a Gate to get away from the devastation, since the Priests for the army's humans had remained behind in their land with the common people. However, due to a lack of Adept mages, a lack of power, and nowhere safe to go, they were forced to Gate to the remotest point that a barbarian shaman from the North could remember. Once there, they managed to wait out the devastation of the Cataclysm, only to be attacked by a remnant army of Ma'ar's. Praying to the human's God Vykaendys for protection, he answered their prayers by erecting the Wall around the country that protected and isolated it for centuries. Society Iftelian society has been formed mainly as a result of the Wall, a force that until recently has kept them isolated from the rest of Velgarth. The Wall Alternately known as the Barrier, the Wall has defined Iftelian society for millenia. It has kept the country relatively free of foreign influence, but has also kept vitually all of the inhabitants virtual prisoners within, creating many aspects of their society. Originally created by their god Vykaendys (Vkandis) in order to protect the country, it eventually came down after the Mage Storms. Iftel rejoined mainstream Velgarth and became a member of the Alliance. Races The races in Iftel include humans, of course, but also nonhuman species. As with other areas, there are gryphons, kyree, and hertasi. ''However, there are also some races that are exclusive to Iftel alone-these include the ''ratha and the tyrill''.'' It should be noted that due to long separation from the original parent stock, the Iftelian gryphons differ greatly from the k'Leshyian ones. Iftelian gryphons are a uniform brown in color and seem to be all derived from a single type, the eagle type, rather than the varied colors and types of the k'Leshyian gryphons. This also results in them being slightly larger and heftier. Category:Places Category:Nations